Starbucks Korea lets customers place orders with their mobile phone, more countries to follow

Starbucks customers in South Korea have become the first to be able to place their order at the coffee shop chain using their mobile phone. The new service is integrated with Starbucks Coffee Korea’s mobile app and is available at all 600+ Starbucks outlets in the country. Customers can also pay for their drink with their mobile device.

Two options are available. Members of My Starbucks Rewards or the Starbucks Coffee Korea website are being invited to use Siren Order, a service that lets customers provide the details of their order to a barista via a QR code, rather than having to communicate their order verbally.

Customers use the Siren Order option within the Starbucks app to choose how they wish their coffee to be made. When their selections are complete, the app generates a QR code that includes the details of both their order and their loyalty card, Starbucks told NFC World+.

The barista then performs a single scan of the QR code shown on the phone’s screen to take the full details of the customer’s order and deduct the cost of their purchase from the balance on their Starbucks prepaid account.

A video shows how the service works:

My Starbucks Rewards customers can also order and pay ahead of their arrival using their mobile app. When they get to the store, they confirm their order and the details are sent directly to the point-of-sale terminal so that their coffee can be prepared.

“Customers can then follow along on their mobile device, receiving messages as their beverage is made,” Starbucks says. “When their order is completed, the barista will call their name.”

“The ability to connect with our customers in a locally relevant way is core to who we are as a company,” says Adam Brotman, Starbucks’ chief digital officer.

“We are thrilled to offer mobile order and pay with the Siren Order mobile service to our customers in Korea, a market that is ripe for innovation, and have a direct connection with them.

“We plan to learn from this and will continue to engage in innovation with plans to bring express ordering to other parts of the world going forward.”